Canadian University Helps Costa Rica Children Find New Species

A group of Costa Rican schoolchildren now have species of tiny wasps named after them, thanks to research to identify the species led in part by a University of Guelph professor. Prof. Alex Smith, Integrative Biology, was part of a team discovering and describing forest wasps found in a remote location in northwestern Costa Rica. The team found 20 previously unknown species of wasps, which they named after elementary schoolchildren from several nearby communities. The children were winners of a local art competition to portray the wild forests that surround them called, “I share my name with a species….” The…